Mental Wellness in San Diego - Psychotherapy blog of Abby Burd, LCSW

Looking for ways to stay balanced and at your best? Abigail Burd, LCSW, San Diego Psychotherapist blogs here to help new parents, educators and helping professionals help themselves and others.

My Concern with Wine Mom Memes

There’s something about the “wine mom” memes and Pinterest posts that have always made me uncomfortable. As an addiction specialist and a postpartum specialist, I have been curious about the intersection for some time.

In fact, a recent op-ed on CNN looks at the coinciding rise of the “wine mom” in popular culture and a rise in high-risk and problem drinking. And a recently published study in JAMA Psychiatry tracks a rise of 83.7% in problem drinking in women between 2002 and 2013. That’s a lot!

For more explanation, I recommend having a read here.

As I say this, I will fully admit that sharing a glass of wine with a baby group after my first was born brought me […]

By Abigail Burd|2019-11-18T14:30:32-08:00November 5th, 2017|Categories: Addiction, Blog, Maternal Mental Health, Mental Wellness, Parenting|Tags: drinking, motivational interviewing, postpartum addiction, postpartum counseling, postpartum drinking, therapy in San Diego|0 Comments

Win a new Ergobaby Omni 360 Baby Carrier

New babies take just about everything out of parents. They need to be cared for around the clock. Then how do you manage to do everything else you need to do? I always recommend babywearing. A good baby carrier is much more comfortable than holding baby in your arms, and frees up your hands. I’m teaming up with Ergobaby, Baby Birds Farm and Cocina, and Alysha Rainwaters Photography to raffle off a new Ergobaby Omni 360.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hop over to Baby Birds Farm for a full review of this new carrier, […]

By Abigail Burd|2019-11-18T14:30:32-08:00September 11th, 2017|Categories: Blog, Giveaways/Free Resources, Maternal Mental Health|0 Comments

Mothering the Mother [Video] with Maternal Mental Health Expert Abigail Burd

Today I am excited to share for free the in-depth video “Mothering the Mother” I recorded as part of the More than Milestones video summit. You can watch it on YouTube or below.

Many thanks to Wendi of Move Play Grow for asking me to be a part of the online summit and for letting me share the video for free here. If you are interested in purchasing the entire series, featuring 25 experts, please check out the More than Milestones page here.

And curious about the offer at the end for the video of two free meditation tracks? It’s true! I am giving away two mp3 files of “An Introduction to Mindfulness” and “An Introduction to Abdominal Breathing” to […]

By Abigail Burd|2019-11-18T14:30:32-08:00June 16th, 2017|Categories: Blog, Giveaways/Free Resources, Maternal Mental Health, Mental Wellness, Parenting|Tags: maternal mental health, mothering, parenting, video|0 Comments

Noisey (Vice) “Asked a Smart Person” (Me) about Sad Music

I love talking to journalists and reporters about mental health. For one, it helps get the word out that YOU ARE NOT ALONE and likely, YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE FEELING THE WAY YOU DO.

Most recently, Sammy Maine from Noisey, which is the music side of Vice media, asked me to weigh in for her article “Why Exactly Are We So Obsessed with Songs about Heartbreak?”

Fun topic, no?

Sad music, like break up songs, works on many levels. Research shows that it can help with emotion regulation. One way that we think it works is that by hearing about someone else that is sad, you can feel the catharsis of experiencing the sadness, but externalize […]

By Abigail Burd|2019-11-18T14:30:33-08:00June 2nd, 2017|Categories: Blog, Child and Adolescent Therapy, Mental Wellness, Students|Tags: emotional regulation, mental wellness, music|0 Comments

Living a Life Consistent with Your Values (What ARE My Values Again?)

I just finished recording an episode of the Messy Middle Podcast with Maring Higa. Update: the podcast is up now –> find it here.

Our conversation got me thinking about values. She asked questions like how do you manage social comparison? How do you find self-worth? How do you find your course while in transition? For many of these questions, I thought the Values Card Sort exercise could be helpful.

Another update! Maringa illustrated this beautiful depiction as an answer to our conversation and this post!

The “Personal Values Card Sort” was created by Miller, one of the founders of Motivational Interviewing, along with his colleagues (W.R. Miller, J. C’de Baca, D.B. Matthews, P.L. Wilbourne, University of New […]

By Abigail Burd|2019-11-18T14:30:33-08:00May 26th, 2017|Categories: Blog, Giveaways/Free Resources, Mental Wellness|Tags: mental wellness, san diego therapist, values|0 Comments

13 Links to Help Talk about 13 Reasons Why and Prevent Suicide

The Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” has been in the media plenty. The show depicts a teen suicide. High school and middle school students especially have been engrossed with the show. The show also depicts sexual assault and bullying. Not surprisingly, many find the show triggering.

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center, supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), put together this list of some of the best responses to “13 Reasons Why.”

From Suicide Prevention Organizations

A Teachable Moment: Using 13 Reasons Why to Initiate a Helpful Conversation about Suicide Prevention and Mental Health (AFSP/ASCA/NASP) (Webinar)
Tips for Parents for Talking with their Children about 13 Reasons Why and Suicide (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)

[…]

By Abigail Burd|2019-11-18T14:30:34-08:00May 10th, 2017|Categories: Blog, Child and Adolescent Therapy, Parenting, Students|Tags: adolescent therapy, suicide, suicide prevention, teens, tv shows|0 Comments

Afraid You’re Doing the Parenting Thing All Wrong? Watch This.

My friend and colleague, Pediatric Physical Therapist Wendi McKenna, is offering More Than Milestones: Understand Your Baby, Nurture Development Confidently, and Raise a Thriving, Happy, Healthy Child … with a Village of Support, a complimentary online training and video summit that brings together more than 20 child development, maternal, and family health experts, including me, to share our advice for parenting with confidence.

Link to register for the video series here.

My episode on “Mothering the Mother” airs April 28th and will be free for just a few days.

Hear more from Wendi:

When it comes to parenting, do you ever feel frazzled in the everyday chaos of having a baby, toddler, or preschooler? Maybe you’re afraid you aren’t doing anything right … that you’ll end up “messing […]

By Abigail Burd|2019-11-18T14:30:34-08:00April 11th, 2017|Categories: Blog, Giveaways/Free Resources, Maternal Mental Health, Parenting|Tags: maternal mental health, mental wellness, parenting, positive parenting, san diego resources, san diego therapist, therapy for postpartum anxiety, therapy for postpartum depression|0 Comments

First, an announcement:

I am now a Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work!

What is Board Certification in Clinical Social Work?

From the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work:

“Board certification at a high level of practice is essential to every healthcare profession—uniquely, it establishes the standards by which competent practitioners may be identified… The Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (BCD) is the profession’s premier advanced-generalist practice certification, embodying the highest standards in the areas of clinical education, training, and experience.”

The “Gold Standard” (or why is a BCD a BFD?)

Ever since I had my first social work supervisor while working for UCSD, before I even […]

By Abigail Burd|2019-11-18T14:30:35-08:00March 24th, 2017|Categories: Blog, Practice Updates, Supervision|Tags: bcd; lcsw san diego; san diego psychotherapist; board certified diplomate|0 Comments

Catch Abby in a free speaking engagement on March 3rd.

Maiden to Mother Group for New Moms in San Diego

Abby is honored to speak to new moms in San Diego on Friday, March 3rd, at the Maiden to Mother group at Nature’s Whisper. Abby is an LCSW and psychotherapist specializing in maternal mental health, which includes postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety and adjustment to the new role. Years ago, she used to lead this group, which encourages new moms to find support, community and new identity.

The group has continued on robustly, but recently, the facilitator and studio director reached out to Abby. The new moms have LOTS of questions and they are hoping Abby can help ease their anxiety. Some of the things the mamas have asked include:

I think […]

By Abigail Burd|2019-11-18T14:30:35-08:00February 18th, 2017|Categories: Blog, Maternal Mental Health, Mental Wellness, Parenting|Tags: maternal mental health, mental health, mental wellness, new mom, parenting, perinatal mental health, peripartum mental health, positive parenting, post traumatic stress, postpartum, postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression, pregnancy resources, san diego, therapy for postpartum anxiety, therapy for postpartum depression|0 Comments

TV News Clip: The “Bringing Postpartum Depression Out of the Shadows Act” Passes the House

Update 12/8/16, 9:00am: The bill passed the Senate and Obama is expected to sign within two weeks!

KSWB Fox5 San Diego invited me back yesterday to talk about some exciting news in Postpartum Mental Health policy. Last week the US House of Representatives passed the “Bringing Postpartum Depression Out of the Shadows Act” sponsored by Massachusetts Democrat Katherine Clark.

The new bill will provide funding to develop and maintain programs for better screening and treatment of postpartum depression, which affects 1 in 7 women. I shared in January about the US Preventative Services Task Force’s recommendations that all adults, especially pregnant and postpartum women, be screened for depression. This time, there’s money! […]

By Abigail Burd|2019-11-18T14:30:35-08:00December 6th, 2016|Categories: Blog, Maternal Mental Health|Tags: fox5, media, policy, postpartum depression, ppd, therapy for postpartum depression, tv appearance, video|0 Comments

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All information contained in this website and on this blog is provided by Abigail Burd, LCSW (California license: LCS 26867), unless clearly and expressly stated to be a guest post. Information provided is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to diagnosis, treat or otherwise replace medical or clinical treatment.

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